House Finance Committee advances amended substitute HB 96 after hearings on school funding and foster-student aid

The Ohio House Finance Committee on April 8 adopted an omnibus amendment to the state operating budget and voted 19-10 to favorably report amended substitute House Bill 96 to the Rules and Reference Committee after a day of testimony on school funding and a separate appeal to restore a Foster‑to‑College scholarship.

Committee members heard from Angie Hamburg, superintendent of the Westerville City School District, who warned that an amendment under consideration — which would direct the auditor to suspend property tax collections for any district with an unreserved cash balance above 25% — would force districts to make deep cuts and seek levies more frequently.

Hamburg said Westerville serves nearly 15,000 students across Franklin and Delaware counties, employs nearly 2,000 people and includes 16% special education students, 23% gifted students and nearly 11% English learners. She told the committee her district uses cash reserves as a planned stopgap while shifting positions off federal ESSER funding back to the general fund and is projecting to remain solvent through 2029 only because of those reserves and prior…